Tag: diwali festival

Over the years, while living overseas, the Diwali day has become just like any other other Indian festival day. You don’t really celebrate it, especially if it falls during a week-day when everybody is at work or school. So, what we do? We say ‘Happy Diwali’, just like we say Happy Holi, Happy Janmashtami, Happy Gurupurab…, but it doesn’t mean much. It is just like saying ‘Happy Holi’ instead of the exchange of the real colors during the Holi festival.
And sometimes, especially if it is on the week-end, we get together and celebrate with food and drinks. The fireworks are ‘optional’, mostly forgotten…

Everyone knows what Diwali symbolize; we say it all the times when we explain it to our ‘non-Indian’ colleagues and friends:
‘Diwali symbolize the victory of Good over Evil, Light over Dark…’ We have memorized it, just like little kids memorize the multiplication tables in the school, without paying any attention to the meaning.
The meaning of Diwali is not lost in translation; it is lost over time and over physical distance of countries far away from India! Continue reading “Happy Diwali – A celebration abroad…without fireworks”

The light – the source of life. The light is the origin of every living thing. Light is the foundation of this universe. Without the warmth of sun, this galaxy would be frozen and lifeless.

A seed needs light to burst out of ground – to defy gravity and grow into a giant tree. A newborn needs light for the life support. A frozen and still pond waits all winter for the touch of the spring, for the warm sun-rays, to melt back into fluid water, water that supports life for all creatures – on earth or under water.

The light enables our sight, makes us see things. Without light we are missing the most important human sense. It is impossible to imagine a universe without the ability to see.

There is no such thing as dark; dark is just absence of light – absence of a necessity. That is why in many cultures around the globe including in India, light is always compared to knowledge, and darkness to ignorance.

Light is something we should celebrate every day. Light is the blessing we often ignore, often overlook.